BLT - Blis Technologies

[winner69]

You guys either are part of the BLT organisation/management team or madly in love in this dog that you can only believe the good things.

The first sentence said it all .... how long have they been going? .... and this is all they come out with ... "The absence of licensing income and a meaningful volume of branded ingredient sales resulted in the Company reporting a net deficit of $828k before tax and finance costs"

Geez the corner diary sells more than the $300k (or was it $400k) a year .... and they not even listed

Glad you find the positive stuff good ... and the shareprice up 50% so not all bad news eh

[simla]

Going back to the preference issue, there were four main planks to look forward to:

Supplements. 50 products now in the market, but sales not where we hoped yet. Progressing, and new main marketer/distributor installed.

GRAS. Two long years late due to ever increasing regulatory problems. But achieved. Technology for food also achieved. Waiting to see how this pays off.

Nestle product. Cancelled. This has been the main objective not achieved, although research is underway for maybe something more.

China. Well, well! Tick.

So, revenue is not where we hoped for this point, but the plan rolls on. By the way, did you notice that China includes approval for food.

[simla]

Your view is perfectly valid, Winner69. As is mine. One of them will ultimately prove to be the better view, since cash will presumably force a result in the end.

The future of a startup is never known, and each investor therefore has to decide what to believe for themselves. Not your average safe investment!

Gutsy company though. No denying that.

[simla]

From the lack of response in the market, I assume most people saw the loss and stopped there.

My approach is to ask:

1. How will Blis cope with the big global upheavals that look increasingly likely over the next year or two?
2. What is Blis's long term outlook?

Both got a big boost from what I saw:

1. China. I understood them to mean they were selling Blis products already available from NZ, and therefore may be quickish to market.
2. GRAS. May take some time to sell the first order, but on the other hand yoghurt makers can knock stuff out in a hurry and the technology is ready to run, so who knows. GRAS in China, too.
3. A fresh set of hands on the distribution front. Hope that helps.
4. Costs cut. That's good.
5. Cash in the bank to tide through. That's good too. We still need sales revenue later this year.
6. A clear indication from that company that sales matter and are being worked on strongly.
7. Ice cream company seemingly going okay so far, therefore likely to contribute financially.
8. Web site in operation, presumably with much better margins than through distribution.
9. Therabreath still planning on opening into more nationwide chains.
10. Continued progress with a number of business deals opening for business.

I personally see that as quite a useful list of things to make the future safer. Six months ago, the only one we might have expected was number 10. The other nine are news. Good news from where I'm sitting.

What of the bad financials then? Well, each to his own. First, yes, they were awful. But I read it to mean that the larger part of the sales drop this half was caused by changing distributors rather than lack of demand from the manufacturers. It wasn't clear though from the wording, I agree. If it really was sales stopping dead, then that would obviously be concerning. I didn't read it that way myself. We'll know more next time.

And is there demand for the product long term anyway? Well, NZ sales continue to show that, I would have said. It has now reached third in the ranks in NZ despite very little advertising.

So, the financials were pretty awful. But I see an explanation for that, and meanwhile I thought the news pretty strongly bolstered Blis's position for the next year or so, and hopefully beyond. It depends on why sales were down this time.

A short term financial washout. But I read it as a solid gain for the future.

Each to his own opinion naturally. But if we're to have any discussion, I thought I better be clearer what I saw in the news. I'd be interested in hearing other views.

[jonu]

Hi Simla-its along time since I posted on Blis.
I didn't expect much from the financials, but I think things are solid looking forward. I have often wondered about Nestles' long term intentions. Blis would be a natural fit for them and I wouldn't be surprised about a t/o bid at some time

[brucea]

Hi guys - I have been reading through the latest Blis report and noted the bit about "Marketing developments for all probiotic products will be extended to include relevant products for companion animals such as cats and dogs because this represents a signification component of the business for Stratum''s parent company; Novus International". You may have read a few months back that I gave1/4 crushed Throatguard lozenge daily for a month to my cat who had bad breath and have noticed a significant improvement in his "breath score" I was surprised to read that Blis had dumped Frutarom as this partnership seemed like a good strategy when it was announced a while back; I wonder if there is more to tell about the reasons for this split??

[brucea]

I have read the Novus website and am impressed as it appears to me to be a much better fit for marketing Blis technology. They sell a product called "ADVENT® coccidiosis control which "is a vaccine against coccidiosis, one of the greatest threats to poultry. The product is sprayed onto broiler chicks shortly after they are hatched, providing protection through a single, antibiotic-free application" and "Working from a strong base of scientific understanding, we have brought to market more than 100 new products over the past decade. Today the Novus product portfolio provides a holistic approach to Health through Nutrition for poultry, cattle, pigs, pets, farm-raised fish, horses and people." It seems this could be an interesting venture for Blis if it goes ahead - well done!

[simla]

Thanks for those comments guys. However, it doesn't look like anyone much intends to discuss this situation. Well, fair enough. It isn't an especially self-evident situation. Who knows what to make of it. We'll see.

[simla]

Well, no matter what logic we each saw in the last results, I'm sure we're all agreed that it's very frustrating.

The company has made so much excellent progress, yet still hasn't unlocked the payoff for it in the form of profit. It raced all the way around to second base, but then getting to third base suddenly seems more difficult. And yet it's so hard to put your finger on why. They work so hard, and have done so many things right.

And it doesn't make it any easier for us personally when the entire world has anyway become a very frustrating place on most fronts, not just here. Life used to be so much easier only a short time ago. History is fickle.

I'm sure we all hope that 2012 will bring more clarity. It's clear that the company remains very busy in its efforts.

[neopoleII]

""It's clear that the company remains very busy in its efforts.""

how so?

several directors, several biologists, other staff etc.
10 plus years of burning cash......
and the result?

i turn over $500k a year in sales and manufacture and installation all by myself and rewarded with wages....... boss is happy though.
and this NZX listed company is doing what?

the board of this company have alot to answer for.
99% of their advertising budget is on obscure websites.
and massive discount promotions in wallmart type stores.

my opinion is....... if it aint happened by now.......

so to date..... no nestle, no colgate, no major brand uptake,
just 1000s of no name websites

yes..... they have a great product, yes they have gras,
yes they want to suceed.........

but the cash is gone...... and they cant secure a big brand or big advertising.
so expect more and more share dilution until there is a billion . something cent shares.

just the way it is sometime.........
and the root cause.............

the director docktors that wanted to market it alone at the beginning.
their attitude ate the precious advertising budget 10 years ago.

that is a fact........ the rest is a slow death.